Star Wars: The Old Republic: Trust in Death
by Skuldakn
Summary: This is my first story, so I hope you like it. Please review! I am running out of ideas! It is an adventure containing romance, betrayal and jokes that may or may not be funny! Enjoy! I will be updating as soon as I possibly can, so every now and then a new chapter. I do not own copyright for almost everything, just the main characters.
1. Chapter 1

Trust In Death

Chapter One

There was fire. Everything around him was burning. He saw bodies, some dead, other's thrashing around like Kowakian Monkey-Lizards. He moved to help the ones that were moving, but a few blazing pieces of stone falling from the sky changed his mind. He knew, somewhere in the depths of his mind, that he was on a mission. He was trying to save a life. But his primal instincts in control at the moment. He ran through a doorway, when out of the flames burst an armoured figure with more flames bursting from his back. He immediately came up with a plan. He jumped, flying through the air, acrobatically spinning and twisting to avoid the blazing debris. He landed on top of the armoured figure. The figure began to thrash around, not unlike the burning people he had seen before, except instead of falling down, the both began to shoot straight up into the air. He smiled, the armoured one was falling right into his trap. Once they were clear of the building, he would leap off the figure, shooting himself out and launching the figure back in. But, the one thing he didn't account for was that the figure might be more skilled than he thought. As they both shot out of the roof of the building, he prepared to jump, but, in a split second, the armoured figure spun around, dumping him off. Then, the armoured figure proceeded to complete the spin, grab him as he fell, and then shot away from the burning building, which was now just a skeleton of durasteel bars. As they flew away, the smoke in the air began to fade, and his head cleared.

"Oh no." He said, as he realized who was carrying him.

"Don't you ever leave me in a burning building again Zerrick!" Shaela shot at him as she flew away with him in her arms.

"Yes ma'am," Zerrick said dimly, as his vision darkened at the edges and he slowly slid off into unconsciousness.

Lilith shivered as she walked briskly by the guards of her master's chambers. Her footsteps echoing loudly as she walked, she began to contemplate on what her master wanted. Darth Naelec was a Dark Lord of the Sith, and a Dark Council member to boot. He had served in the Dark Council for almost thirty five years, making him almost the longest lasting member. But, then again, what do you expect of an eight thousand year old Anzat Sith Lord? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the four guards flinch and straighten as Darth Naelec's voice came on the speaker's hidden in the walls.

"Enter, my apprentice." Lilith noted her masters perfectly calm, monotoning voice. He only did this when either seducing some unlucky sentient for his brain feed, or when he was extremely angry, which he almost never was. Lilith knew her master's reputation for fun and an excitable personality. She wondered what in the galaxy could have caused this much anger in a being who prided himself on his ability to keep a positive view on everything. As the black doors slowly growled open, which must have been an intimidation attempt for anyone visiting him, Lilith pondered on whether or not to even go in. The last apprentice who had gone in when Naelec was like this was now a small pile of dust in his museum. She shook off the thought, knowing her chances of backing out now were none. She slid through the small opening in the doors, and stood at the edge of the darkness, trying to gauge her masters position.

"Looking for someone apprentice?" A voice called from directly behind her. Lilith nearly jumped and screamed, but she held it to herself.

"Yes master, I am answering your summons." As she bowed, Naelec put a hand under her chin, and lifted her head. As always, she let loose a small sigh when she saw his appearance. He was a mildly tall, well-muscled humanoid. If not for the facial tendrils, he would have been instantly mistaken for human. But even with the snake-like appendages, he was beautiful. She remembered back to her Sith trials, when she first became Naelec's apprentice. Her trial had been unknown to her, until her master had called her up to his quarters one night on Korriban. She though she had been in trouble, for she had just failed to retrieve an artifact from the tomb of Ajunta Pall, the first Sith Lord. Once she had arrived though, her master had been sitting at his desk, smiling like a fool. She had immediately felt an extreme romantic feeling for him. She knew now that he had been using his extraordinary Anzat telepathy on her, but then, she thought she loved him. She would have done anything for him. Thankfully, she had been able to break his mental control over her, and she had sworn that no one would be able to control her like that again. So she had decided to follow the path of the Inquisitor, and she had amassed a great knowledge and ability in the arts of Sith sorcery. She snapped back to the present, in time to her her master say

"My spy network has been attacked. Twice in the last week, one in Nar Shaddaa, and one on Ziost of all places! I am enraged." He paused and stared hard at her.

" But of course you knew that. You will hunt down and destroy these dissidents. And if possible, leave one alive so I can find out who has the audacity to attack me. Now, leave!" Naelec shouted the last part as he threw Lilith out of his chambers. Lilith spun and thrashed as she flew, but she couldn't find leverage to stop. She eventually shot out the door and crashed into one of the troopers guarding the door, almost knocking him out of his armour.

"Ma'am! Are you alright?" The trooper inquired as he helped her up.

"Yes, thank you for your concern." Lilith said to him sweetly. Then she spun on her heel and stalked out the door.

Nex really didn't like T9. The droid was sarcastic, excellent at what he did, and an overall nice droid. But, he was so like Nex, he felt like he had to dislike the droid. And he was so lost in his thoughts on why he didn't like T9, the droid had opened the hangar door, and proceeded to poke him with the computer connecter stored in T9's body.

"What! Can't you see I'm busy?" Nex yelled at the droid, to which T9 spouted a long stream of beeps and blips which Nex guessed meant he had just been sitting there drooling. "All right, all right, I'm coming." Nex follow T9 out of their ship, a Corellian XS Stock light freighter Nex had dubbed the Rogue Knight and looked around, even climbed up onto the ship to look.

"There's nothing here! You brought me out here for absolutely no reason at all." And then Nex's eye's lit up.

"Is this payback for kicking you earlier? I told you I was sorry, your just so short and-" T9 began beeping and bonking Nex toward the ships hangar door, then turned around and used his connection to the ship and shined a few spotlights on a singular spot on the horizon.

"What is that? All I can see is a pinprick of orange . . ." Nex began muttering to himself about losing his marbles, whilst the small pinprick of orange came closer and closer, until it became an armoured figure carrying something big in it's arms. T9 beeped suddenly and happily.

"What? Shaela? She wouldn't be flying, she's out with Zerrick and . . . wait. Did you say flying here?" Nex ran out to where T9 sat beeping like a maniac, and finally spotted what T9 had.

"Is she holding Zerrick? Wait! Don't answer that!" He stopped T9 as he was about to let loose a string of beeps on why she had Zerrick.

"I'll get a medpack, you make sure they land ok, got it?" Nex didn't wait for an answer and ran into the Rogue Knight. Ok, medroom, where is it? Why do I never remember this? He thought to himself as he ran. There! Nex bolted into the medroom, shifted through every single cabinet, until, in the last one, he found the medpacks.

"Why are they never in the first place I look, only the last." He muttered to himself as he ran back outside. There, Shaela had already landed, and had Zerrick suspended on top of T9. Finally, a good use for that oversized tin can. Nex thought to himself. He ran up to Shaela and Zerrick, bent down and injected Zerrick in the arm with the medpack. Zerrick's unconscious body gave a jerk, then fell still.

"Is he . . ." Nex couldn't finish his sentence, because he was afraid of being correct. "No Nex, he's just unconscious." Shaela explained to him. Nex let out a long breath of relief, then flopped down on the ground.

"When was the last time we had a vacation? I mean, you, me and Zerrick? Sorry T9, my dream doesn't have tin cans in it." He told the droid when it beeped.

"Let's get him inside." Shaela ordered him. "Also, I don't think we've ever, or ever will get a vacation from Darooga." Nex sighed,

"Why, of all the Jedi in the galaxy, does Zerrick have to have the least fun one as his master." He muttered to himself. He and Shaela carefully carted Zerrick into the ship, whilst T9 sped by, beeping something about preparing the ship or else they'll all die.

"Um, please tell me if I'm wrong, bit did T9 just say we would all die?" Nex questioned Shaela. She looked as shocked as he did.

"I . . . I think he did." Nex took one last look at Zerrick's pale, sweating face, then raced to the cockpit. As he turned the corner and leaped into his pilot's chair, T9 warned him of five Sith MK. VI Interceptors speeding towards them.

"Aw, kriff it all! T9, tell Shaela that once she's done stabilizing Zerrick, she needs to get to the turret. I'll try to keep them off us for now!" Nex shouted to T9 as the little droid rolled away. Nex began a long stream of flips and maneuvers he either learned from his family, his teachers at the Corellian Academy, and a few he made up himself. The Rogue Knight spun, it twisted, it did death defying drops, but apparently the Sith had sent their best. The fighters kept on them, and did not seem to want to keep them alive. The fighters let loose with concussion missile, proton torpedoes and lasers.

"Since when do Interceptors have that much weaponry?" Nex mumbled to himself. Suddenly, one of the Interceptors disengaged and flew around the Rogue Knight. The Interceptor then began a suicide run straight toward Nex. No matter what he did, the fighter always stayed on him.

"No, no, no!" Nex screamed to no one in general. His friends were going to die, and it was all is fault. Then, from the Rogue Knights top turret, a bolt of green energy shot out and detonated the incoming fire.

"Now that's how you kill Sith!" An ecstatic voice came over the comlink.

"Shaela, if I didn't know you'd punch me, I'd kiss you!" Nex said with glee.

"Back off lover boy." Shaela scolded him, but Nex could hear the joking tone in her voice. Laughing, the both of them proceeded to spin, turn and blast the remaining fighters. Once they knew they were safe, Nex took the few seconds to plot a course to Corellia, where they were supposed to contact Master Darooga for their next mission. Once they were off, Shaela climbed down from the turret and strolled into the cockpit, smiling like a fool.

"That wasn't half bad!" She told him. Nex burst out laughing, and soon, they were both shaking in their chairs. Then, a voice called to them.

"Hey guys, just so you know, I don't appreciate the rocking and rolling." Shaela and Nex looked up and saw Zerrick standing there, with a sarcastic scolding look and his face. He looked back and forth at them, then burst out laughing.

"I have so missed making jokes, you know. So, what happened?" Zerrick looked from Nex to Shaela.

"Well, first you and Shaela landed and came in, then T9 and I took off, then we fought some Sith. You know, the usual." Nex explained.

"Well, that's good, because I'm going to sleep now." Zerrick barely finished his sentence before he tumbled down. Shaela jumped forward and caught him. She slowly helped him up and escorted him to the medroom.

"Damn Zerrick, how many times will you faint on this mission?" Nex said to no one in general.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Lilith knew she was up against a superior foe. She had watched the footage from Ziost, saw a tall Jedi with long raven hair pulled back into a ponytail, and what seemed to be a mildly good-looking blonde, average height Republic Trooper burn down a warehouse and kill a dozen of Darth Naelec's best spies. She had observed how the trooper had gone out of her way, Lilith was sure it was female, to avoid hurting the Jedi when he appeared to have gone crazy, and how she had gingerly carried him away from the burning wreckage of Naelec's spies house. She was only mildly surprised when she saw the blood red tattoo's on the Jedi's face. She automatically touched her own, silvery green, and realized that the Jedi was a Kiffar, a near-human like her. She dismissed the thought, and continued to watch the footage of the Jedi's dramatic escape from five MK. VI Interceptors. Lilith sighed as she watched the last Interceptor die, and proceeded the first copy the video, then spin around and leave the room. As she walked to her room, she mulled over what she had to do. She knew that the trooper was SpecForce, by the insignia on her armour, so Lilith knew to mark her as dangerous. The Jedi was a mystery, he obviously was a great warrior, as well as being pacifist to the point of stupidity. He had refused to detonate a bomb in the building when the trooper had suddenly set it off. But, Lilith realized, there must be a third wheel. The Jedi had been unconscious when he and the trooper entered the ship, and no SpecForces could fly like that. It must either be a very skilled pilot from the depths of the Republic, or another Jedi. Either one was deadly. Lilith was jolted out of her thoughts when he comlink beeped. She looked around, noticed she was at her room, then answered the com.

"Yes?" She then realized that she should have checked who it was, and now her master might begin scolding her.

"Apprentice, you know the consequences of not knowing who you are speaking with, so I will not lecture you. I have taken the luxury of putting together your team. You will have a nondescript Corellian freighter, but make no mistake. It has been formatted with the finest technology available. It is waiting for you at Hangar Bay 12. Your team's roster is: Major Kon Terrence of Kuat, Helssk of Trandosha and Captain Troy Dortmund, a Dromund Kaas guard captain. They all answer to you, but please, be careful with them. They will be . . . hard to replace." Lilith could hear her master drawing a breath, and took the opportunity.

"Yes master, I will head there now." Lilith closed the call, then carefully walked into her room, in case her master had bugged it. She expanded her awareness, then, when she was sure of safety, fell into her bed and smiled. This will be a fun endeavour, Lilith thought to herself, and slowly drifted into a meditative sleep. When she awoke, she stretched blissfully, then began collecting what she believed she needed for the trip. When she was done, she began a brisk pace to Hangar Bay 12. Along the way, she continued to ponder on who the mysterious third wheel of her enemies could be. It must be from a race with good motor skills, she thought. That leaves Dugs, Corellians, and a dozen others. It would take hours, if not days. She was thinking so hard, she did not notice, again, that she had arrived at her destination. She only realized when she heard someone calling to her from across the hangar.

"Commander! Over here!" Someone shouted. Lilith looked up, and saw an older man holding himself with a gentleman's posture, a hulking Trandoshan with an assault cannon slung over his back, and finally, a young man in Dromund Kaas issue Imperial armour. She noticed that it was only the young man who looked happy. The Trandoshan looked, well, like a Trandoshan. The older man, who was wearing an Imperial Major's uniform, looked as if he was ready to fall asleep and never wake up.

"Good morning gentlemen." Lilith said as she pulled her hood off. The younger man gasped, only managing to halfway hold it in. She smiled at him, and he blushed an smiled back. The older man proceeded to salute and introduce himself.

"Ma'am, I am Major Terrence, my overlarge companion in scales is Helssk, and the smitten young man is Captain Troy Dortmund." He then spun on his heel and, along with Helssk, walked up the ship's landing ramp. Lilith turned to look at Dortmund, and he saluted. "You know ma'am, when Darth Naelec told us his apprentice would be our commander, he never mentioned you were beautiful." He told her with a smile. Lilith thought on what he said, then smiled, in earnest and replied

"Well, at least your straight forward." She offered him her arm, and he escorted her into the ship.

Shaela was dragging Zerrick to the medroom, when her comlink started beeping. She carefully stopped and set Zerrick down and answered it.

"Hello?" She asked. She heard a deep breath from the other end, and then Nex went into a long speech.

"Ok, we're almost to Corellia. Thought you might want to be here when Darooga and I have some verbal jousting. Anyway, see you when your up here." Shaela smiled. Nex and Zerrick's Jedi Master Darooga were always at each other's throats, which may possibly be why they never actually met in person, ever. She laughed at the thought, then finally managed to get Zerrick into the medical room, and onto his bed. She then proceeded to strip him of his clothes, leaving just enough covering him to protect his modesty. Shaela choked on her breath when she saw how bad his burns were.

"Oh Zerrick, why do you do this to yourself?" She scolded his unconscious form. She knew about the Jedi's need to do good, but this was too far. Zerrick had nearly killing himself saving her, which she had to admit, she enjoyed, but seeing how bad he was wounded. She remembered back to when they had first met, she had been on patrol on Coruscant, and he had come bursting out of a Black Sun safe house, which wasn't so safe after all. He had been bleeding from his temple, and had three Black Sun Vigo's shooting at his back. He had fallen at her feet, and she had gone out of her way to kill the Vigo's and save his life. She knew now why she had done it, but she would never admit it to Zerrick. As far as he knew, she loved doing good as much as he did. She snapped back to the present, and proceeded to administer a healing salve to his burns and cuts. He had one nasty gash across his chest and around to his back, so she focused most of the salve on that area. Shaela worked so much and hard, she had barely noticed that nearly three hours had past. Nor had she noticed that while she was working, Zerrick had awoken, and was now watching her with humour in his eyes.

"So, what did I do to deserve a free massage? Oh, and thank any deity in the galaxy that it wasn't Nex." Zerrick joked, even though he looked as serious as a Barabel on a hunt. Shaela stood still for a second, then burst forward and wrapped her arms around Zerrick in a ferocious bear hug.

"You're ok! You're ok!" She cried on his shoulder whilst saying that, and a very surprised Zerrick put his arms around her. "Hey, it's ok. And I know you just said that." He said, always the joker. Shaela looked up from his shoulder and smiled at him. Then she fell back onto him, crying again. "I thought you were dead you know, back in the spy house. Don't you ever do that to me again!" She scolded him. Zerrick hugged her tighter, and replied "Yes ma'am, right away. Hey, why do you care so much anyway. I'm not so sure it's because you enjoy my jokes that much." Suddenly, Nex's voice came on over the intercom. "Hey guys! Get your undisciplined butts up here now, Darooga's words, not mine." The intercom turned off, and Shaela sighed in relaxation. She had almost had to tell Zerrick her deepest, darkest secret. And that was something she wasn't ready for him to know. Not just yet. Then Zerrick leaped out of the bed, and pulled on his pants and robe as he ran to the door and called back to her.

"Hey Shaela, you coming? I don't think Darooga will enjoy it being just Nex and me." Zerrick bowed toward her and offered his hand. Shaela smiled at his cute, if outdated, move. She took his hand, and Zerrick pulled her along the way, wondering aloud what Darooga and Nex had already said to each other. Shaela sighed, then smiled. She let go of Zerrick's hand, and when he turned to look, she shooed him away. Just another day, she thought, and proceeded to race after Zerrick.

Lilith and her crew had prepped the ship and were ready to take off to Corellia, where the Jedi's ship, the Rogue Knight Lilith believed it was called, was supposed to contact the Jedi's master, one of Darth Naelec's old enemies. Or at least, thats what the bug the easily defeated Interceptors had planted said. Lilith was sitting straight-backed in her chair facing the holoprojector, waiting for her master to call. Over on the other side of the cabin, Helssk and Troy were deep into a dejarik. game, and Kon was snoozing in his chair. Lilith reserved herself to watching the increasingly erratic dejarik strategy of Troy. He had been pulling his creatures, and had been losing as much as he won. But finally, his sacrifices paid off. His wampa snuck up behind and destroyed Helssk's rancor, his most powerful piece. Lilith continued watching and, when Troy completely destroyed every last piece Helssk had left, clapped enthusiastically. Troy looked over, and shot her a seductive smile that made her heart flutter. On the outside, she smiled back at him and waved, but inside she was scolding herself for falling for Troy. He was handsome Lilith admitted to herself, but she could not focus on anyone until she had caught her prey. She looked away from Troy, and continued to survey the entire room. Lilith surveyed how Helssk nearly leaped into the service closet every time Kon looked over, so Lilith found it odd and a little disturbing that Kon, but not Helssk, gave a start when Darth Naelec's image appeared suddenly on the holodisplay. Lilith stood and, along with Helssk and Troy, bowed down to Naelec.

"My lord. What are your orders?" Troy asked him. When Naelec did not respond, Troy cursed under his breath, something about forgetting the customs of this one singular Sith Lord. He motioned for Lilith to step up, so she did. She bowed once more then stood as tall as she could.

"Greetings master. We all would like to know what it is you wish us to do." Lilith sighed in relief. That was a lot better than she had originally thought it would be. Darth Naelec looked at her, and she saw his eyes narrow almost invisibly. He terminated the call, and Troy ran up to the holoprojector. He connected it to his datapad, tapped out something, then walked back to Lilith. As she took the datapad from his outstretched hand, she recognized the pure and barely contained anger at Darth Naelec that she had so often, only this time it was in his eyes. Lilith took the datapad, and realized that Darth Naelec had told them their mission. As she read the datapad, Lilith realized how important this matter had to be to her Master. Apparently, an old rival from the Jedi Order, a large and muscular Twi'lek named Darooga had sent his apprentice and a Republic strike team to sabotage his Sith rivals spy network. Lilith scrolled through a bit more information about the strike team, pausing to read the part about the tall Jedi she had seen. His name was Zerrick, and he was a full Jedi Knight with one of the greatest combat records of this age. He had a friendship with a Corellian smuggler named Nex and a Republic SpecForce trooper named Shaela. Darth Naelec also assumed that the Jedi was secretly smitten with this Shaela, and recommended twisting his feelings. Lilith finished reading and skipped to the mission. She then looked up and called to her crew.

"Suit up boys! We're going to Dathomir!"

Nex was truly and utterly tired of listening to Darooga's droning voice. Quite honestly, he felt like putting a blaster bolt, on stun mode of course, between Darooga's eyes. As he was putting together his next string of insults, Zerrick strutted in, tall and proud as always, with Shaela grinning like an idiot behind him.

"Hello Master. You're looking annoyed!" Zerrick said in his always cheerful tone. Shaela put her hand to her mouth and coughed to cover her laugh, but Nex didn't even try. Darooga turned to Nex as he chuckled and looked like he would spit at Nex through a thousand light-years of space, but he held it back.

"Apprentice, remind me to ask you why you keep such infuriating company. But in all other matters, I have your next mission."

"Ah, good! Now we can go!" Nex blurted. Zerrick and Darooga both looked at him disapprovingly, but Nex saw the laughter in Zerrick's eyes.

"Yes Master, we await you." Zerrick said, using an obedient tone to placate Darooga's anger.

"Hmmph. Very well then. Your next mission will take you to Dathomir. There are three spies there. The spymaster is a female Falleen, and the two spies are a female human and a male Zabrak. You will terminate their network on Dathomir, but please, try to take them alive this time. And no fires!" After his last remark, Darooga cut the communication.

"You know, I don't think I can think of a time he's ever said goodbye." Nex commented to Shaela.

"Now Nex, I've told you a thousand times, be nice." Shaela scolded him. Nex thus shot her a cocky smile and walked over to where Zerrick had gone to set their course. Nex stopped and watch Zerrick do his speciality. Nex quite honestly wondered how Zerrick came to be so good with technology. He had even saved Nex's life with an implant to his heart when Nex had been zapped by Sith lightning.

"So Zerrick, you got the course set in?" Nex asked. Zerrick looked over and shot,

"Do you honestly have to ask?" They both chuckled at the thought of Zerrick not being able to do something technological, and then they walked back to the pilots chairs where Shaela was trying to look busy.

"Alright then boys, if your done chatting we can head off to Dathomir." Zerrick nodded and Nex gave her a dual thumbs up. Shaela proceeded to flick the switch and send the Rogue Knight into hyperspace.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

When her ship came out of hyperspace, Lilith was hit with a wave of the dark side of the Force. Apparently, the Dathomir Nightsisters were more masters of the Force than she had expected. As she stumbled back, someone caught her arms and held her up.

"Careful my lord. We need you for this mission." Helssk hissed at her.

"Thank you for your concern Helssk, but I'm fine." Lilith told him. She got up and began to take a survey of her crew. Helssk had gone back to the weapons locker, and had his assault cannon over his back, twin pistols in his belt, a grenade bandolier and had a scattergun in his hands. Major Terrence had gotten up from his dejarik game with Troy and picked up a light blaster rifle. Troy had gone into his cabin, and when he came out he had his armour and a snub rifle. Terrence looked up and told her,

"We're ready."

"In that case, I'm going to need a wig, some makeup and a disguise."

When she had convinced her commander to let her be the military contact on this mission, she hadn't wanted, but still expected, to be commanded to make regular calls to her commander so he knew what the mission's status was. She had just finished a call with him, and was so sick of his voice she wanted to scream. The barve had bought his way to the honour of having the rank commander, and then squandered his squad's income. When she got into the lounge, she found Nex and Zerrick arguing, probably if one of them cheated at pazaak.

"Nex, for the last time, I'm not going to!" Zerrick said, clearly on the end of his patience.

"And I'm saying you should, and will!" Nex retorted. Shaela sighed to herself and shouted,

"Boys! Why don't you stop acting like children and tell me what's happening!' Nex and Zerrick looked at each other, and Nex motioned for Zerrick to tell her.

"Well, um, you see, on Dathomir our first target is at the Imperial base there, getting intel on insubordinates, and they're having a dance. All Imperials are welcome, on the condition that they actually are able to dance. Nex told he can dance well, and that he can probably pick up a girl to dance with. But then I told him that I can't really do partner dancing. So then he told me to, um, well . . ." Zerrick looked like he wanted to dive out a window.

"What's wrong?" Shaela asked.

"Well, um, Shaela, would like to help me learn to dance?" Zerrick asked with half-sincerity, and half-fear. Shaela couldn't help but laugh at his discomfort, but quickly caught herself.

"Of course I'll help Zerrick, and I'm sorry for laughing." Zerrick let out a sigh of relief, and Nex let out a chuckle.

"I told you she'd say yes. Now get out there and dance!" Zerrick shot Nex a look that said 'I'll get you later' and took Shaela's hand as music began to play.

Darth Naelec was, at last, close to his goal. He cackled to himself in the darkness of his chambers. He had been in his perspective of adolescence when the Sith Emperor had taken control of the Empire, and Naelec had squandered many fortunes, most of them not his own, to discover how the Emperor had managed to amass so much power and manage to live for a thousand years. Now, he knew, and now, he was ready.

Shaela was as happy as could be. They were almost to Dathomir, and she had spent the last few hours with Zerrick, dancing to a soothing slow beat in the music. She had her hand with Zerrick's in front of them, her hand on his back and her head in his shoulder. He held her gently, probably not wanting to hurt her if he screwed up. He held her waist and hand perfectly, and she had told him so. Shaela wanted this moment to last forever, but of course, it didn't. Nex had to burst in and tell them with all haste that they had landed on Dathomir.

"That was awfully fast Nex, even for you." Zerrick questioned Nex.

"Yeah, but you weren't there. Plus, you've been dancing for hours. Got the hang of it yet?" Nex asked.

"I would suppose so, seeing as how I didn't screw up in the entire time we were dancing." Zerrick shot back, and walked up and clapped Nex and the shoulder.

"I do indeed believe that I'm ready." Zerrick and Nex shared a laugh. Shaela drew in a breath, and pushed away her last barrier.

"Zerrick. I was wondering if you would like to dance with me while we're at the Imperial Dance." Shaela sighed in relief, and now, the moment of truth. Zerrick looked back at her, smiled, walked up to her and, with the jauntiness he had probably picked up from Nex, bowed down, took her hand and kissed it and said,

"There is no one I'd rather ask me than you. Oh, that was a yes by the way." Zerrick straightened up, and noticed the stern look in Shaela's eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Have you been taking lessons from Nex?" She managed to ask in all seriousness, then smiled and wrapped her arms around Zerrick's neck.

"Thank you, thank you very much." She whispered in his ear.

"Alright! Now that that's settled, I'm going to go walk around and get a date!" Nex said in full on cheeriness. Zerrick let out a laugh, and even Shaela smiled at Nex. He gave them both thumbs up, and strutted down the landing ramp.

"I suppose I should tell you that Nex told me how to say yes." Zerrick said sheepishly. Shaela smiled and elbowed him gently.

Whistling a merry tune to himself, Nex strolled down into the city they had landed in. He didn't know the name of the city, the docking officials hadn't told him as he landed. He asked around a bit, found out that there was a market up one street, a meeting hall to his left, and a cantina straight ahead of him. Nex being Nex of course went straight to the cantina. Once he entered, he was hit with the sweet smell of drink, sweat and blood. Nex walked up to the bouncer, a big Gamorrean and asked,

"So, who got beat up this time?" The bouncer turned his big piggy nose to Nex, and motioned to an unconscious body being dragged out by three people who Nex assumed were his buddies and/or cronies. Nex strolled up to them and examined the unconscious man's face. He had a black eye, a fat lip and it looked like his nose was caved in.

"You want something pal?" One of the cronies asked.

"I wouldn't mind if you told me why your friend here has half his face smashed. So, what happened." Nex crossed his arms and waited. The crony who had stopped him turned and pointed towards a table at the far end of the cantina. Nex looked over, saw a quite and utterly beautiful young woman sitting alone, with almost every male occupant staring at her. Nex took a closer look and noticed that she was wearing the customary Imperial military's off-duty uniform.

"Well, I need a date for the dance so I have an excuse, might as well try her." Nex said to himself. He walked up to the Imperial's table paused for a moment to observe the exact number of mildly seedy and violent looking people examining the girl. Nex guessed somewhat around sixteen, which he could probably take in a fight. He shook himself out of his thoughts, and continued to walk up to his destination.

Lilith had to admit, for a big lizard, Helssk was an admirable disguise artist. He had cut her hair and coloured it red, instead of her usual long and brown. He had used a special device Helssk said he invented himself, which had changed her face almost unrecognizable as her, but still beautiful. Helssk had said the controller was in her pocket somewhere, and that she could change her face to almost anything. Thanks to her being a Sith, and apprenticed to one of the most powerful non-Dark Council Sith Lords, she had gotten an Imperial Army uniform cut and tailored to her size. She had put everything on, and examined herself in a mirror. Troy had evened gone forward as to flatter her with 'Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.' and 'I love the new look.' Now, Lilith was sitting in a cantina near the spaceport where the Jedi and his crew had landed. She had watched out of the corner of her eye when the Corellian, she was sure he was Corellian since he was human and was an impossibly good pilot, had walked in. She watched as he looked around, then locked on her for a few seconds. She saw him examine all the scum looking at her with lust, and walk over to her.

"Hey. May I sit here?" The Corellian asked. Lilith looked up and studied his face, and smiled.

"Of course. And you are . . .?" She asked. The Corellian got a look in his eye, as if he was thinking of many things at once. Then Lilith felt his mind through the Force, and discovered that he planned to answer everything truthfully. Almost everything.

"I'm Nex. You should watch out. There's a suspicious looking Devaronian sitting three feet from you. He's got a knife, and a hold-out blaster in his boot. Oh, did I mention he's looking at you hungrier than a starved rancor looks at a pile of corpses." Lilith froze for a moment, scanning said Devaronian's mind with the Force and discovered that Nex wasn't lying.

"Thanks for the advice. Now, I would assume that you didn't sit here for the same reasons he is?" Lilith asked. Nex looked at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"No, lucky for you. I'm just here to ask why a nice looking girl is doing-"

"In a place like this, I know." Lilith interrupted.

"Quite honestly, I was just bored of everyone in my squad, and I decided to go for a walk. Now I'm here. I suppose that's just how things work." When Nex looked at her questioningly, Lilith just gave him a flirty smile and shrugged. She had decided to play the flirt to find out what the Jedi's crew was doing on Dathomir. And apparently, Nex liked it.

"I gotta say, you are either the nicest and funniest Imperial I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, or your the spunkiest. Either one is good." Nex stated.

"Well, that's good for me I assume." Lilith said. Then, a sudden beeping sounded from under the table. Lilith knew Terrence was supposed to call her about now, but she had to play it right. Thus, both she and Nex began fumbling through their pockets, looking for their communicators. Nex pulled his out first, only to discover that his wasn't beeping. Lilith then pulled her's out, and answered it.

"Sergeant, must I remind you again? I told you to get rest for the parade and dance tomorrow. Now, move out soldier!" Terrence yelled at her through the communicator. She winced at his voice, as did Nex, whom she assumed had authority issues, hence him being Corellian.

"I am so sorry, but my commander is strict and there's a parade tomorrow, I have to go." Lilith said as she got up.

"No it's okay. Here, I'll walk you home. I don't trust these characters." Nex whispered as he motioned at the surrounding ensemble of seedy-looking cantina trash. Once again, Lilith shot Nex a flirty smile.

"Thanks. I could probably use your help." Lilith laughed inside at that remark. She could take on all these goons, and double that as well. But until she could discover Nex's intent, she needed to play along. So, along with Nex, she gathered up her belongings and proceeded to walk to the exit. And of course, before the could leave, a gang swooped in and stopped them. There were three of them, a human, obviously the leader, a Togorian, possibly for muscle, and a Bothan, obviously the brains.

"So, my pretty little flower, just where do you think you're going? The human asked. Lilith started to answer, but Nex put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her behind him.

"Ha! What're you gonna do to us little man?" The Togorian belted out. Nex gave him a mischievous smile.

"It's very simple. I'm going to do this!" Nex shouted the last part as he pulled two blaster pistols from his sleeves. In a flash of light, the three goons were gone. In their places were three very dead corpses.

"Anyone want to go? No one? Good." Nex glared at anyone who wouldn't look at the ground. He then proceeded to slip the pistols back into his sleeves, and bowed to Lilith.

"I believe the door is open, my lady." Nex said jauntily.

"Why thank you." Lilith replied. As they walked down the dimly lit streets, they were only attacked twice. Both times, they were annihilated by Nex. As they approached the home Lilith had bought only twenty four hours earlier, Nex commented,

"You know, I thought there would be more attacks. Well, all's well that end's well. This your house? Looks cozy." Lilith giggled at him, then told him,

"It is, but not when I'm alone." Nex looked straight at her after she told him that, and he must have seen whatever it was she was trying to put up.

"Well, if that's all, I'd better go." He turned to leave, but Lilith caught his arm.

"It's not all. I was wondering if you would like to come in maybe?" Lilith asked. Nex looked at her, then at the street, then at her face. She must have either looked good enough, or looked pleading enough.

"Alright. I'm in." He said as he followed her in.

Zerrick was quite honestly tired of being the pack mule. He was thinking of all the times he had to literally do the heavy lifting. He just got to the part where he had to drag an unconscious bantha across a city block on Tatooine when he heard someone calling his name. He stopped thinking about banthas and looked around.

"Zerrick? Zerrick!" Shaela was calling. "Have you seen Nex? He's been gone since last night, and the Imperial dance is today. And speaking of the dance, did you get your disguise?" Zerrick couldn't help but chuckle at Shaela's forced efficiency.

"Yes, I got it. An Imperial officer's dress uniform, to be exact. Plus, I checked out the Nex problem. He either picked a girl, or a girl picked him up. Anyway, he's got his way into the dance, and we've got ours. And, I even got drinks. Juma Juice for me, and Tarisian ale for you." He explained to her, which of course brought a smile to her lips.

"Alright, alright, you win. This time at least." Shaela began to exit the Rogue Knight, but tripped on the broken part of the gangplank and fell. Zerrick dashed forward, with a little help from the Force, and caught her without dropping his suit or the drinks.

"I really need to fix that dip, seeing as how you seem hellbent on breaking your neck on it." He said as he smiled at her.

"Oh, hardy har har for you mister big-shot. Now, please put me down." Shaela asked when Zerrick just stood there with her in his arms.

"Oh yeah, right and, um, sorry?" Zerrick stumbled over his words as he set her down. Shaela smiled and patted his cheek.

"You have to be the most oblivious person I've ever met Zerrick. But in a good way!" She said when she saw his crestfallen face. Then she elbowed him when he broke out laughing.

"You should have seen your face!" Zerrick cried between laughs and gasps for breath. Shaela stood there, hands on her hips, and a scolding expression on her face. When Zerrick gathered himself up and entered the ship, Shaela followed, shaking her head. When they entered the lounge, Zerrick plopped down on his favourite spot on the couch, and Shaela sat down on her chair. Zerrick had just started to enjoy his Juma Juice when Shaela asked,

"Zerrick, i know you picked up your suit, but did you pick up my dress?" Shaela sat, staring at him for a few moments, then Zerrick launched himself from the couch and sprinted at full pace out of the ship. He was halfway down the street when he looked behind him, and all he saw was Shaela standing at the ship, laughing her head off.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

As she watched Zerrick bolt down the street, Shaela couldn't help but laugh as she observed how he literally dropped everything and ran.

"Zerrick! Wait!" She called after him. When Zerrick stopped, Shaela pointed down the street he had just ran by.

"You need to go that way, just so you know." She called to him. Zerrick thumped his hand against his forehead and dashed down the correct street. As Shaela walked back into the ship, giggling as she went, she couldn't help but feel a hint of danger. Shaela shook the thought off, knowing she wasn't a Jedi. She went back inside, checked the kitchen, made sure they had all their supplies in the cargo hold, and examined the communications for any bugs. Thats when she realized the message light was on in the comm room. Shaela walked in, and, after carefully examining the message ID, realized the Nex had sent the message. Thus, she answered it.

"Hey guys, Nex here. Just wanted to tell you that I've got my way into the dance, which Zerrick probably already discovered. She's an Imperial, and I think she really likes me. I saved her life a few times, so I think you can guess her reasons. Anyway, I was at her place all night, so that's why I didn't show up. So, uh, I'll see you tonight! Bye!" As the message ended, Shaela realized the Nex must have either had the time of his life, or had drank to much. He was obviously either drunk or hyper, both of which were bad news.

"I suppose I'll have to keep an eye on him." She said to herself. She then walked to her room for some much needed rest, seeing as how to dance was most likely going to end in disaster, and possibly explosions.

When Lilith awoke, wrapped in her bedsheets that she must have rolled in last night, she realized the Corellian, Nex, was gone. She rose from the bed, grabbed some clothes and quickly dressed. She then went room from room, looking for Nex. Not in the kitchen, not in the den, not anywhere. She then expanded her consciousness, looking for Nex with the Force. She found him. He was sitting out on the balcony, a vision of calm and peace, which was unlike Corellians. Lilith walked through the rooms, making sure not to walk straight to the balcony as to not betray how she had found him. When she walked out on to the balcony Nex didn't even turn, though he must have heard her. She strode right up to him and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"I woke up and you were gone. Where'd you go?" She inquired. Nex took her hands and spun on his heel to face her. He looked straight into her eyes, which was mildly hypnotic for Lilith, as most people stared at her with fear, anger and hate, not love, happiness and amusement.

"I apologize for leaving you, but I had to clear my head, so I went for a walk, got a drink, saw the sights. Then I came back here, and I have been sitting here thinking since then." He explained to her.

"Ah, alright." Was all Lilith had to respond with. She and Nex sat down together on the couch she had put out here. Nex sat straight and tall, while Lilith sat leaning against him. Then, a thought came to Lilith.

"You are coming to the dance, right?" She clarified. Nex simply nodded and smiled.

"In that case, I need to go and pick up a dress. See you soon!" She called as she leaped from the couch and made her way out.

Zerrick had no idea where he was going. When he realized he didn't pick up Shaela's dress, he had just ran out of the ship and gone in a random direction he picked. And now, he was hopelessly lost with only three more hours until the dance. So now, he had to throw his pride out the window. He pulled out his comlink, and called her.

"Hello? Is this you Zerrick?" Shaela asked over the comlink. Zerrick took a deep breath, and answered.

"Yes, it's me. I was just wondering, for the sake of asking, where is your dress again?" Zerrick then let his deep breath go, because he got through that without letting Shaela know he was lost. Then, she burst his bubble.

"Your lost, aren't you." She stated. Zerrick groaned, and then groaned again when he heard Shaela laughing on the other end.

"Yes, I am horribly lost and I have no idea where to find you dress. Help me please, I beg of you!" He said in all seriousness. He counted five seconds before Shaela answered.

"You'll want to go straight five meters forwards. Then look to your left. Bye!" Shaela then cut the communication. Zerrick just stood there, dumbly trying to understand what she had said. He was that far from the pickup location? He proceeded the follow her instructions, counting out each meter, then turned left. Sure enough, sitting right there, was the shop Shaela had bought the dress at. Acknul's Attire was a small, nigh on invisible compared to everything else on this street because of it's nondescript paint and the fact that it had no lights outside it at all. Zerrick looked around, then walked in the front door. Inside, it was positively warm. Mildly bright lights, clothes everywhere, and an old Mon Calamari sleeping behind the counter.

"Hey! You alive?" Zerrick called to the old man. The poor guy promptly burst into energy, sputtering, kicking, threatening to throw a rock at Zerrick's mother. He then fell off the stool he was sitting on.

"Hey, need a hand up?" Zerrick asked as he offered his hand. The old Mon Cal looked up, blinked sleep out of his eyes, and took it.

"Much obliged young man. Now, what can old Acknul do for you?" Zerrick pulled the old man up, and observed how his breath did not smell like alcohol, yet there were tens of empty bottles scattered around the floor.

"I'm here to pick up a dress. I believe it was reserved under Sarah La." Zerrick said, using Shaela's usual undercover name. The old man started muttering Sarah La to himself, and looking through a bundle of papers that Zerrick guessed were clothing reservations.

"Aha! Here it is! I almost missed it, but here's your girl's dress. It's already paid for, so you can just take it and go." Zerrick moved to take the dress, but the old Mon Cal abruptly drew back.

"There's just one more thing sonny, that I should tell you." The old man said. Zerrick looked at him questioningly, and the old man pulled out a heavy blaster pistol. Zerrick immediately tensed up and prepared to fight.

"The name's Cipher 17, Imperial Intelligence. Anyone who walks in here is auto-scanned by my camera's, and I check who they are. Imagine my surprise when a highly sought after Jedi walked in here to buy a dress. Now then, if you don't mind, I'm going to shoot you." The old man pulled the trigger and shot, but Zerrick was already moving. He jumped over the Mon Cal, spun around, whilst pulling his lightsaber out of his sleeve. When he landed, he slashed and jumped away again. But this time, there were no shots. Zerrick took a split-second to check on the old Mon Cal, and saw a pair a legs lying on the ground. He walked up, and noted that the rest of the old Mon Cal was now lying a meter away. But suddenly, from behind the desk that Zerrick had first seen the old Mon Cal, a small red tube shot up and began flashing. Zerrick stood there, not realizing that the bomb was a bomb until he recieved a danger warning from the Force.

"No!" He screamed as the explosion launched him out a window and into the street. No one came out looking for the cause of the explosion, so Zerrick counted himself lucky. He picked himself up off the ground, dusted himself off and looked back in the now falling apart shop. However, completely and utterly surprising, Shaela's dress, the cause of Zerrick coming here, was still hanging beside the door, or at least what was left of the door. And the dress was perfectly preserved, just a little ash and dust were on it. Zerrick stood, dumbly staring at the dress for a few moments, then grabbed it and ran. He bolted down roads, hid in alleyways, and made his was back to the Rogue Knight. He noted that the hatch was closed, which forced him to call Shaela.

"Shaela! Get the hatch open please!" He shouted into the comlink.

"Alright, calm down. It's opening now." She retorted. Zerrick waited while the hatch slowly opened.

"Aw, kriff it!" He whispered as he threw himself into the small opening. He then continued on to the cockpit, where Shaela was sitting there, arms crossed and scowling.

"Your dress, my lady." Zerrick said, bowing and holding out the dress. Shaela took it slowly, looking him up and down.

"What, did you get bombed or something?" She asked. Zerrick simply looked up and said,

"You have no idea." He sighed, plopping down in a chair.

"Don't sit down! We're going to the dance as soon as I change!" Shaela called as she went down to her room. Zerrick groaned and leaned back in his chair.

There were birds chirping, people milling about, and a partially destroyed building. Just another day in the amazing life of Nex! He had been on his way to the dance, when he had noticed the giant crowd and what looked like a bombed building. He noticed a few Imperial soldiers in full armour and a few regular police. He decided to ask the police instead of the Imps.

"Hey! Do you know what happened?" He asked a cop who looked like a higher rank than the others. The cop looked over, saw Nex, then shook his head.

"Please leave citizen, before the Imperials ask you." The cop said, then walked away. Nex looked over his shoulder and saw a few Imps looking at him. He raised his hands as if in surrender and headed in the direction of the dance.

"I'm going, I'm going." Nex called to the Imperials as they raised their rifles. One of the Imps motioned towards the direction of the dance, and Nex smiled, only to happy to comply. Nex was about to leave when he noticed something shiny lying under a piece of shrapnel. Nex bent down and snatched it up before anyone noticed and left. Once he was sure he was clear of any prying eyes, he opened his clenched fist and examined what he had found. It was a shiny, round medallion connected to a silvery chain. Nex immediately recognized it. Zerrick had made it for Shaela, but never had the guts to give it to her.

"Well, Zerrick will either thank me and hide it, or he'll finally give it to Shaela. Either one will be fun to watch." Nex said, chuckling at the thought of Zerrick hiding from Shaela in the ship. Nex knew that Zerrick would try, but he would always fail.

Lilith had discovered a new talent she had: being someone she's not. She had never pretended to be anyone other than herself, which usually meant she was a scary Sith Inquisitor. But now, she was a relatively innocent and reluctant young Imperial officer, which she was excellent at acting as. Suddenly, someone quite literally knocked her out of her thoughts. She was hit with a wall of muscle and a large coat. By the time she hit the ground, the giant man was gone, and she was just sitting there, with no one around. Lilith rose, cursing the man and dusting herself off. She examined her surroundings, but alas, there was no sign of the giant. She checked her holo, which told her that she had half an hour to get to the dance. She picked herself up, and began a relatively quick pace in the direction of the dance. As she walked, she began to think of what she would do to the Jedi and his team if she had the chance. The Corellian, Nex, was annoying, a little bit funny and an excellent shot and pilot, so she might have to keep him prisoner, or kill him so the Republic or the Jedi couldn't use his talents. Lilith knew nothing about the trooper, so she set her aside for later. The Jedi was the greatest enigma. She knew, thanks to Darth Naelec's reports, that the Jedi was wholly behind benevolence, yet he destroyed quite a large amount of Imperial and sometimes civilian belongings on a regular basis. He obviously had a great potential for either Jedi or Sith, and was apparently clumsy beyond belief, if you considered the amount of collateral damage he had caused. But that was a problem for a later moment. Ahead of her, Lilith saw a roadblock covered by three young men with blasters, and Lilith sensed a dozen more on the roofs beside the road.

"Excuse me? What is this?" Lilith called. The youths looked over to her, looked her up and down, and smiled. One of them leaned to his friend and said something. The other one laughed and cupped his hands to his mouth and called back.

"Hello ma'am! This roadblock marks to borders of the Corellian Suns gang. And you're in our territory, which makes you our property." As he said the last bit, the three of them burst into raucous laughter. Lilith smiled, and commented,

"I don't think so." Then leapt forward whilst pulling out her lightsaber. As she landed, Lilith swung, and simultaneously cut all three gang members in half. She then proceeded to bound over all the buildings beside the roadblock and either killed or knocked out all the remaining enemies. As she leaped back to the ground she noticed that she hadn't even sustained the tiniest scratch.

"Well, my respect for you has dropped exponentially." She spat at the dead. With that, she continued on.

With the wind blowing softly through her hair, the birds in the tree's behind her and with her wearing the dress Zerrick had retrieved for her, Shaela was the most beautiful woman in the entire galaxy, to Zerrick at least. He longed to tell her that, but he either was to afraid, or it was beyond his physical capabilities. About now he would remind himself that fear went against the Jedi Code, as did love. He turned away from Shaela and quickly took few breaths to calm himself.

"Zerrick? Are you alright?" He heard Shaela ask. He turned and walked back to her.

"I do indeed believe I am ok. Shall we?" Zerrick asked as he motioned to the doors of the dance complex. Shaela smiled and took his hand as they both walked in.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

With soft music playing, people slowly dancing around her, Shaela felt like she was in Heaven. She had Zerrick holding her softly, her head in his shoulder, their hands joined in front of them. She wished this moment could last forever, but alas, they never do. She had hacked the buildings security system, so she would know if the spy they were hunting entered. Thankfully, Darooga had given them a hologram of their quarry, so they knew what she looked like. Shaela had set her comlink to alert her when the spy entered. And thankfully, it hadn't alerted her yet, and Zerrick hadn't picked up the spy with the Force. They had T9 stationed at the door as back-up, but hopefully he wouldn't be needed. Nex was somewhere around here with his date, and he had a canister of knock-out gas with him in case of emergencies. Hopefully, she and Zerrick would be able to neutralize whomever their quarry was. As it was, they'd have a hell of a job, seeing as how there was somewhere around three hundred people at this dance.

"So, you have any idea yet?" Zerrick asked suddenly. Shaela blinked up at him, and cautiously replied, "No, not yet. But wouldn't you notice first?" She asked.

Zerrick stared at her, then seemed to catch on. "Oh, not you. I have a bet with Nex. Whoever catches the spy first gets twenty credits. I was asking Nex for his sake, because I think we just found him. See that Rodian over there?" Shaela looked to where Zerrick was pointing and saw a short, bright green Rodian inching towards one of the exits. "He is feeling intense fear and anger. Darooga told us this spy was here to terminate any traitorous Imperials. So I think we got our spy." Zerrick said matter-of-factly. Shaela was about to take out her blaster, when something occurred to her.

"Aren't the spies supposed to be a human, a Zabrak and a Falleen?" She asked. Zerrick looked confused for a moment, then seemed to realize that he had not explained. "The Rodian might be a slave that is passing messages to the Republic. Thus, he would be a target. So we follow him." Zerrick said as he pulled Shaela along with him. "Nex is gonna lose those twenty credits!" He said excitedly. Shaela simply sighed, and went along with it. They slowly made their way through all the dancers and hugged the wall, keeping just out of sight of the Rodian. Suddenly, the Rodian shot to the side.

"Huh?" Zerrick gawked. Shaela grabbed him and bolted to where the Rodian had been. Sure enough, there was an open crawlspace that led to a long tunnel. "Come on!" Shaela ordered Zerrick as she leapt into the opening. Zerrick stood for a moment, then sighed and carefully crawled in after her.

To Nex, a dance like this one was something he could barely stand. It was orderly. Organized. And there was no pazaak! But he had a job to do, and he had twenty credits to win.

"Nex? Are you all right?" A voice shook him from his thoughts. He looked over and noticed his date, gazing up at him questioningly. He smiled and took her hand, and they both continued dancing. He thought back to earlier last night when she had introduced herself as Laral, sergeant of the Imperial Army. Then he thought back to the mission. A human and a Zabrak were the targets. So far he had seen dozens of humans, a few Weequay, but no Zabraks.

"I'll be right back" Laral said. I need to get something to eat. You want anything?" She asked. "Nah, I'm good." Nex said. Laral smiled and headed off towards the concession. And, Nex couldn't believe it, he noticed a Zabrak up on a balcony overlooking the dance. "No way," He breathed. Nex slipped out the tiny holdout pistol he had brought, and stealthily made his way to the stairs. As he made his way up, he saw a shadow coming down. Nex hid himself as well as he could and waited. Sure enough, the Zabrak just walked on by him. Nex sneak up behind him, and tapped on his shoulder.

"Huh!?" The Zabrak turned, and Nex fired right into his face. "Kriff! It's not on stun!" He screamed to himself. He began ruffling through the Zabraks pockets, and came up with enough evidence to prove that he was Imp Intel. "Phew," Nex sighed. "Close one." Nex put the blaster away, hauled the body into a trash receptacle, and headed back to the dance.

From an alcove, Lilith saw it all. She watched as the Corellian, Nex, carefully make his way up the stairs, saw how he managed to surprise a trained Imperial Intelligence agent, and kill him. She needed a new plan, and fast. Head-on attack would not work, as the large amount of Imperial bodies this group left behind them would prove, so it would need to be espionage. Perhaps undercover, or maybe . . .

"Oh yes, that will definitely work." Lilith said, and gave an evil smile towards Nex. She leapt down, and made her way to the exit, with a full and completely evil plan in mind.

"Hey Shaela! You find something?" Zerrick said uncomfortably, when he accidentally head butted Shaela when she stopped. "Yeah, there's a door. I'm just cutting it open. Give me a sec." She called back, grunting. Zerrick rolled his eyes, and prepared for a long wait. Whenever something like this happened, Shaela would insist on getting through it herself, and wouldn't let Zerrick use his lightsaber, even though it would take a fraction of the time. So, he was ready when, ten minutes later, Shaela called excitedly, "I got it! Come on!" She then crawled out, with Zerrick trailing behind. Once they were both out, Zerrick took a moment to stretch, because crawling through something that small really ached.

"Alright, so where's the Rodian?" He asked. Shaela examined the room, and pointed towards the far end. "Something moved over there, so he's probably-YEEARGH" Shaela screamed as electricity arced over her body. Zerrick couldn't do anything, he was frozen. He watched as the electricity died down, and he jumped forwards to catch Shaela as she fell.

"Hey! Shaela, wake up! Are you okay?" He cried frantically, waving his hand in front of her face. He shook her gently, trying to wake her, but to no avail.

"It's a shame." A voice said from behind him. Zerrick whirled, and saw a white haired woman pointing an odd-looking blaster at him. Zerrick looked her up and down, noting how the hand not holding the blaster was hovering over a sheathed knife.

"You were supposed to come out first, not her. This gun can take down a Force-user, not kill. Then I could have killed her, and gotten away with you.. And I would have been rewarded for bringing in a live Jedi. But now, you both must die." The woman said, as she levelled the blaster. Zerrick leapt up and over the bolt, and spun to slash at her from behind. But she jumped back and Zerrick crashed to the floor. "Ow . . ." Zerrick groaned. "Could you not stand still!" He yelled at the woman. All she did was smile, and line up another shot. This time, Zerrick zipped side to side, dodging every shot. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the knife. When he got close, the woman whipped it out and slashed him on the side of the face. She then proceeded to kick him in the groin, which left him unbalanced, bleeding, and stunned.

"Gah! Why won't you just go down!" Zerrick berated her. "I have a policy to not be cut up by lightsabers!" She called back. Zerrick sucked in a deep breath, deactivated his lightsaber and rushed straight into the woman, knocking her down. "Ha!" He yelled, and reactivated his lightsaber and prepared to strike. But before he could, he felt a painful tingle, going through his body from his chest. He managed to glance down at the woman, and just noticing the blaster she had aimed at him.

"Damn." He said, and lost consciousness.

It had been several minutes since Nex had come back from dealing with the Zabrak, and he couldn't find his date. "Great, another girl leaves me in the dust. What is this, number twenty-three?" He growled. Then, out of nowhere, and young boy, about fifteen years old, rammed right into him. A surprised 'Oof!' came from both of them. Nex was up first, ready to fight. He noticed his opponent was on the floor gasping, and quickly went out of fight mode. "Here, let me help you." Nex said, helping the boy up. The boy stood, gasping for a few moments, then handed Nex a letter. "Message for you sir," The boy said painfully. Nex took the letter, and sent the boy to find a doctor. He checked who had sent it. There on the cover, was the name Sarah La. Nex stood dumbly for a moment, then remembered that Sarah La was Shaela's code -name. He ripped open the letter, and read the contents. Meet me outside. We're in trouble. It said. Nex began pushing people out of his way, inching towards the door. "Excuse me people, personal crisis going on." He called. Finally, Nex made it out. He stretched, groaning from relief. Suddenly, a sharp whistle filled the air. Nex looked over, and noticed Shaela waving him over. As he got closer, he noticed Shaela's eye's were red, and she had tear streaks going down her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Nex asked gently, pulling Shaela to her feet. She looked up at him, and began crying anew. Once Nex calmed her, she took a deep breath, and said something that chilled Nex's blood.

"What do you mean Zerrick's gone!" Nex yelled. "How can he be gone! He was with you!" Shaela couldn't answer, she just sat back down on the bench she had been waiting on and cried. Nex seemed to realize that all he'd done was upset her, and tried to calm her. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled. It's just . . . do you know what the Sith do to captured Jedi?" Nex asked. Shaela nodded, but Nex didn't seem to notice. "They kill them! Or, worse, they turn them. Do you want to see Zerrick all dressed in black, with a red lightsaber, and those creepy, Sithy eyes!" Nex ranted. He continued to do so, until Shaela stood up and slapped him. "Why don't we try to find him, instead and standing here yelling!" She said right into Nex's face. He stood there, stunned, then nodded numbly. "You go to the ship Nex, and I'll stay here and look around. Understand? Good, then go!" She yelled, and sent him running. She then turned, hoping no one could see her cry.

"Whoah. Never seen Shaela like that before. Don't think I want to see it again though," Nex thought as he ran. As he turned the corner, he was blocked by a large group of people crowded around something. Nex attempted to push his way through, but he was outmaneuvered and shoved into the middle of the group. Then he saw what they were all staring at. Lying on the ground twitching, was young man in a local police uniform. Nex ran forward and knelt beside him, examining a small wound on his neck.

"We found him like this, but there was some blue light around him, so we didn't come close." Someone said. Nex turned and saw an old man and woman. "Thanks." He told them. A strange wound, and blue light? Nex noticed something in the wound, and carefully extracted it. It was a three centimetre long bolt, with a shattered capsule on the top. Nex stood, and called one of the bystanders over.

"You need to call a medic." He told him. "Already did, they're almost here." The bystander replied. "Good. Tell him this man was shot by a DC-23 stun gun. They should know what to do." Nex said, then ran for all he was worth towards the ship. DC-23's were uncommon, and the only people who used them were Imp agent or SIS who needed to take someone alive. Which meant that Zerrick had been taken alive! Nex pulled out his comlink and punched in a number.

Shaela had examined everywhere where she had lost consciousness. She had found a small tunnel that led to a work shed. And she had spent the last few minutes trying to open the door. "Ugh! That's it!" She yelled, and blasted the handle. Outside, there was a small shack to her left, which was home to whoever owned the work shed. And straight ahead of her, leading off to the jungle, were small footprints, and drag tracks, distinctly shaped like human feet. Suddenly, a small chirping sound rang out. Shaela quickly pulled out her comlink and answered it. "Shaela here." Out came Nex's voice, going so fast she couldn't hear anything. "Nex, slow down, I can't understand you." She said, annoyed. She heard Nex take a deep breath, and he began. "I found a guy here who was shot, by a DC-23 stunner. The only people who use it are Imp Intelligence, and SIS. I think Zerrick's alive, so we just need to find him. Seeing as how it was obviously Imp Intelligence that took him, we need to look for a hidden landing pad, maybe out in the jungle." Nex said. "I'm going to power up the ship and start looking. Good luck!" He said, then the call ended.

"A hidden landing pad, eh? I think I've found it." Shaela said as she walked off, following the tracks into the jungle.

As Nex ran, he began to wonder if the reason the Imps took Zerrick alive was to turn him into a Sith. Nex shook his head, purging the thoughts. He turned the last corner, and stopped for breath. "Damn. Should have gotten a speeder," He huffed. Wincing, he walked up to the ship, and input the access code. He jumped up the gangway, and rushed to the cockpit, turning everything on. He then went back down to close the gangway, only to discover that it was already closed. Nex immediately drew his pistol and whipped out his comlink.

"Shaela? You there?" He asked, but got nothing except static. "Damn, comm's are down." He said, examining his surroundings. He carefully paced into the lounge, but discovered nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, what's going on?" He asked, not expecting an answer. But, from behind him a seductive voice said, "Why, the best and the worst day of your life!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Uuuh, my head." Zerrick said. He tried to look around, until he realized that his head was tied down. He tried to move his arms, but they were in the same predicament.

"Ah, you are awake!" Said a voice. Zerrick was surrounded by shadows, so he couldn't see who was talking. "Who's there?" Zerrick asked stupidly.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. First, I want you to tell me exactly who you are. And speak clearly please, I need to write this all down." The voice asked gently. Zerrick blinked slowly and shook his head. "You get nothing until I know who you are." He said forcefully. He heard a sigh, and hoped it meant agreement. Out of the darkness walked a man. He didn't look out of the ordinary, just your average pirate. Then Zerrick looked down, and saw that he was wearing an Imperial officer's uniform!

"Oh no," Zerrick moaned. "You've got to be kidding me!" He hissed. The Imperial simply smiled. "We do not kid here, Jedi." He said, voice full of loathing. "However, there is someone else who will be asking the questions now." Zerrick heard a door open and close, then two more men walked into the light. One was obviously an interrogator, judging from the large amount of syringes and blood-encrusted tools on his belt. And the second man wore nothing but black and red robes, and a hood that covered his face. Then Zerrick saw a lightsaber on his belt.

"Great. Now I've got a creepy Sith interrogating me. How could this day get better?" Zerrick asked. The Sith looked him right in the eye's. and smiled. "Oh, my day has gotten much better, Jedi."

Lilith was very happy with her plan. She had intercepted the agent that had taken the Jedi, and ordered her to go along. Now, she was dressed in ragged Jedi robes, preparing to finish her disguise.

"Are you sure about this, my lord?" The young Sith boy said. Lilith looked down on him, her gaze withering away his question. "Do it." She ordered. The boy nodded, and drew his lightsaber. He activated it, gazed apologetically at Lilith, and thrust it into her stomach. Lilith gasped, barely able to stay awake through the pain. She fell to the ground, whilst the troops around her checked to see if she was alive.

"T-thank you." She told the boy. "You have b-been most helpful."

"Nex, where are you with the ship? I need some help here!" Shaela yelled into her comlink. She had been waiting for Nex for almost twenty minutes. The Imperials might have gotten away, and taken Zerrick with them.

"Yes, I am here. I will fly the ship to your location." Nex said to her, sounding very odd. "Nex, are you okay?" Shaela asked. "Yes, I am most well." Came the disembodied reply. Shaela shrugged, muttering something about Nex and his weird habits. She continued on her way, following the trail left behind by whoever had taken Zerrick. Ahead of her, there was a glistening spot of red. Shaela ran up, and bent down to examine it. It was blood, and not very fresh at that.

"If you've hurt him, I'll tear you apart Imperial!" She swore. Shaela continued running, but with more urgency than before. She continued on for several minutes, only fleetingly wondering where Nex was. She stopped for breath, but when she looked at the ground to search for the tracks, she noticed the rocks on the ground were shaking. Shaela backed up behind a large bush, and watched. Down the trail, pushing aside the trees, was a rancor. It was twenty feet high, and looked as if it had just won a hard fight. Shaela tried to make herself as small as possible, praying that the beast would continue on and not notice her. Luckily, it did. Shaela waited a bit longer, then burst out of the bush and bolted down the trail.

"Now then, I want you to pilot this ship up to the satellite in orbit and land it in a docking bay. Understand?" Said the voice. Nex couldn't help himself, but he nodded and jerkily walked towards the cockpit. He fought with himself, every step of the way, but he just couldn't stop. He thought back to how it happened. He was surprised by whatever being was behind the voice, and had been following her, yes he was sure it was female, orders for the better part of an hour.

"N-no. Fight i-it." He barely managed to say. "Oh, you can't fight it. You want to obey me, don't you love?" The voice asked. Nex was going to throw every insult he had at the voice, but all he said was "Yes mistress." At least now he knew for sure that it was female. Now he had to find out the species. There were several. Anzat, Killik, Falleen. Then Nex had a revelation. One of the spies Darooga had them hunting here was a female Falleen. And Falleen had exceptional mind control powers of the opposite gender, thanks to the built in pheromones. With this new knowledge, Nex knew how to fight the Falleen. Using all of his mental discipline, he pushed the pheromones influence away, and turned to face his opponent.

"What! How are you resisting me!" The Falleen said in awe. Nex had to admit, she was cute. Then he shook his head, and realized he was being even more affected now that he could see the Falleen.

"You took over my head. Now you die, schutta!" Nex growled, drawing his pistols. The Falleen's eyes widened when she saw them, and she started scrambling away from him. "Oh no you don't!" Nex yelled, and shot her straight in the back of the head. The Falleen went down, crashing into a table.

"You know, I meant to take the Zabrak alive. But I was happy to kill you." He spat at the corpse. He saw his comlink on the Falleen's belt, and snatched it.

"And you stole my stuff? Damn you to hell." He continued to growl at the corpse. Nex checked his comlink and saw that Shaela had attempted to call him, definitely while he was under the Falleen's spell. He punched in the number, and waited for an answer.

"Hey Shaela, you'll never guess what happened to me." Nex said smugly." Shaela sighed, annoyed at Nex. "Nex, we have a crisis right now. We can worry about your tales of greatness later." She ordered. Shaela heard Nex grunt agreement, then she closed the channel. She had found where the tracks led to. The Imperials had a secret landing field. She snuck as close as she could, then crawled as close to the ground as she could the rest of the way. She only stopped once, to cut open the fence with her knife.

"What I wouldn't give for Zerrick's lightsaber right now." She grunted as she sawed at the mesh. Once through, she shimmied along the fence line, noting the defences. There were four guard posts, each with a single soldier in them. Shaela was right up to one, so she silently climbed up. At the top, she peered in to see who was inside. To her surprise, she recognized the soldier. Shaela had seen her before, when she was crawling out of a tunnel back at the Imperial party.

"Well now. This is my lucky day," Shaela muttered gleefully. Once the soldier turned around, Shaela pulled herself up, and snuck right up behind her. When the soldier turned around, Shaela straightened up, gave the soldier a jaunty smile, and pushed her off the tower. Before the soldier could scream, Shaela pulled her gun and shot the soldier three times, one in the face, one in the chest, and another one in the face just to be mean. Shaela spat over the side of the wall onto the corpse. Suddenly, a blaster bolt shot right by her head, and hit the support post for the tower's canopy. As the canopy fell, Shaela leapt over the wall, grabbing onto the ledge and swinging to a safe platform.

"You'll have to do better than that!" She shouted to the other three soldiers, who were all now lined up and blasting away at her. Shaela continued to leapt and spin, twirling her way down to ground level. Once her feet hit the ground she took off, screeching to a halt behind a log, conveniently placed there. Once behind cover, she finally got a good look at her opponents. It was a strange bunch: two humans in Imperial Army standard armour, alongside a hulking Trandoshan wearing a combat suit with Imperial symbols. Shaela zeroed in on the Trandoshan, working out how to take him down. All she had was a blaster pistol, two smoke grenades, and a frag. Shaela smiled as she took the frag out.

"Hope you boys are ready!" She called to them, activating the grenade. She hurled it towards them, ducking back behind her log for safety. The humans seemed to notice the grenade, and both of them ran as fast as they could away from it. But the Trandoshan didn't. He just continued pouring blaster fire straight towards Shaela. Then he exploded. The older human cried out.

"Helssk! You Republic schutta!" He screamed at Shaela. He and the younger human lined up their guns, and Shaela knew she couldn't avoid it this time. There was no more cover, since her log was destroyed thanks to Helssk and the frag. Then, a giant roar sounded across the entire clearing. Out from behind the humans, the rancor that Shaela had barely avoided smashed it's way into the complex. The younger man jumped out of the way, but the older one just stood there, unblinking. Then he was picked up and thrown down the rancor's gullet. The rancor turned towards Shaela, picking out her white armour easily. It began to lumber towards her, but the young man did the stupidest thing anyone could ever do. He shot at the rancor. The rancor was obviously surprised as well, because it began backing up and swinging at the ground.

"No! No no no no!" The young man screamed as the rancor came crashing down on him, his cry muffled. Shaela took one look at the rancor, scratching the area the man had to on, and ran for her life.

Pain. That was all Zerrick could even comprehend now, after being tortured for what felt like hours. And through it all, he could hear the Sith's voice droning on and on. At one point, he felt a tiny pinprick between his shoulders, but in the long run, that was unimportant. Suddenly, the voice, the lights, the pain stopped. The table he was strapped to began to move, going from straight horizontal, to straight vertical. Zerrick slowly opened his eye's, expecting the glow of a lightsaber being thrusted towards him. But nothing happened. The interrogator stood up from his box of horrors and left the room. The Imperial major, yes he had said he was a major, must have seen Zerrick's confused look, because he smiled and laughed. The Sith just stood there, like Sith usually do.

"So what now? A little Sith lightning? Are you going to cut me open and see what falls out?" Zerrick taunted the Sith.

"Don't tempt me." Was all he got. The major walked forward, which caught Zerrick's attention. The major pushed a few buttons on the side of the table, and Zerrick's wrists and ankles were released. He burst into action almost immediately. Unfortunately, he must have been drugged. As soon as he launched off the table, his legs gave out and he face-planted on the floor. As his vision slowly cleared, he heard the Sith laughing.

"It would seem we have a fighter, my lord." To major said, bowing to the Sith. The Sith finally smiled, and said "Yes, yes we do. Lock him up. You know which cell." He ordered the major. The major nodded, and in came three men. Two took Zerrick's arms, and the other took his legs. They began marching through the halls, apparently towards the brig. At one point, they passed by a window, and Zerrick saw Dathomir. He realized he must be in the Sith satellite. Now all he needed was to escape and find a ship.

"Is there some way I could persuade you all to let me go?" Zerrick asked. His answer was a smack to the face and a grunted 'Keep quiet!' Zerrick sighed, and began drawing in himself. Thankfully, none of the soldiers were Sith, and there were none nearby, so they weren't ready when Zerrick let loose with the Force, crushing all three troopers against the walls. Whatever drug the Sith had used had partially worn off, and Zerrick was able to walk. He lurched over, and snatched up one of the troopers rifles. He continued on towards the prison, with the hope of releasing some friendly prisoners. Once there, he started going through all the prisoner files. There were several pirates, a bounty hunter, a crime lord. Zerrick grunted with disgust. Then he saw it. One name he didn't recognize, but the display said one word after it. Jedi. Zerrick abruptly turned, and limped down the corridor, until he reached the cell door. He bent down, and pulled the panel off the door control. Then he began pulling wires out and plugging them in somewhere else. After a while, he thought he had made good progress, but unfortunately, good luck doesn't last. A sudden blaster shot blew the panel apart, and when Zerrick turned, a second bolt hit him square in the chest.

"Again?" Zerrick asked, looking at the wounded as his consciousness faded.

When she heard shots outside her cell door, Lilith wondered what was going on. Then she heard a thump, and voices. It sounded like an argument. The the hidden comlink she had pinged.

"Yes?" She answered. "The Jedi's coming in. He put up a fight, and was about to free you and ask for help. Get ready, the comlink will self-destruct." Came the voice of the Imperial major she had ordered to make this happen. Sure enough, the comlink disintegrated itself in a puff of smoke. Then, the door slid open. Two troopers came in dragging a half-conscious body. They dumped the body on the ground, and turned to leave.

"Get back here, you Imp scum. I'll take you all on myself!" The body said, half awake. The only reaction he got was a laugh from one of the troopers. Then the door slid closed and it was just the two of them. Lilith crawled closer, the wound in her stomach causing only minor pain. She had used a special Force technique taught to her by Darth Naelec that forced wounds to not cause pain, and to not harm the body. But now that the Jedi was here, she had stopped it, and the pain was back. Suddenly, the Jedi's head shot up, then the rest of him went up.

"What? Who? Where? Imperials!" He shouted. Then he took a look around him, and realized where he was. "They got me again?" He groaned. Lilith stifled a laugh.

"Yes. They got you." She told him. The Jedi jumped into the air, apparently just noticing Lilith. That as the last straw, and Lilith lay down, giggling softly.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Nex?" Where are you?" Shaela called into her comlink. She had been running for the past half an hour, hoping to outrun the rancor. Luckily, she made it to the city outskirts, where there she was safe. Shaela had stopped at a cafe, had a drink, until Nex contacted her telling her to come quick. She had been trying to get him to talk since then, but she got nothing.

"Look, we can't talk over an open comm. Now hurry to the ship." He ordered. Shaela sighed, closed the channel and continued on, but at a faster pace. Soon she was there. Much to her surprise, she saw Nex dragging what looked like a body towards a bush on the end of the landing pad.

"Nex! What are-Mmph!" Shaela cried indignantly into Nex's hand. "Shh! It's the last Imp agent. I got her when she was trying to steal the ship." He explained to her, slowly taking his hand away from her mouth. Shaela breathed deeply, glaring at Nex. "Get rid of it. I'll start the ship." She turned and walked away, then Nex called to her "It's already started, just give me a few minutes. Shaela walked into the ship, marvelling at how empty it was without Zerrick or Nex. Shaela walked into her room, still thinking hard. She sat down, wondering what they would do now. It was at that point when Nex ran by the door, then back pedalled and walked in.

"So, Shaela, the thing I wanted to tell you was that Zerrick contacted me." He said. Shaela stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth open. She only reacted when Nex reached out and closed her mouth.

"What!" Shaela screamed. "How! Is he alright?" She berated Nex. He held his hand up, most likely to make her stop.

"I want to check it out, but I think it's not him." Nex said, ignoring Shaela's horrified look. "It could be whoever took Zerrick's going for a full set. Or maybe it is actually Zerrick, and he needs our help. But that's the thing. The message came from the karking Sith satellite! You think we can get in there?" Nex asked. Shaela looked down sorrowfully.

"No, we can't." She told him. Nex nodded. "That's right, we can't. But that's why we're checking it out, and if it seems Zerrick is there, I'll blast him out. Let's go." Nex ordered, then bounded towards the cockpit. Shaela stared in amazement, then followed.

"Ahh!" Zerrick screamed when a hand grasped his ankle. He jumped into the air in fear, then turned to fight his assailant.

"Whoah! It's okay!" A voice told him. Zerrick looked to where the voice came from, and saw a young woman looking up at him. Then he saw the silvery green markings on her cheeks. His hand went to his blood red marking, going across his forehead and down his nose. "You're Kiffar!" He cried excitedly. "So are you, it would seem." Said the woman. "My name's Lilith, what's yours?" She asked.

"My name? Oh it's, um, Zerrick." Zerrick told her, wondering why his head was so muddled. "Why are you in here?" He asked. Lilith laughed. "Oh, I'm in here for being a Jedi." She explained, still laughing. Zerrick stood stock-still, examining her one more time. Sure enough, she was wearing a tattered Jedi robe.

"You must be thirsty." Lilith said. A cup on the other side of the cell lifted up, and floated towards Zerrick. He grabbed it, and took a long drink.

"Hmm. Tastes funny." He said. Lilith laughed again at his comment. Zerrick decided he liked her laugh, it was a very nice sound, just like her voice, he thought dreamily.

"That's prison water for you." Lilith said. Then she gasped and grasped her stomach, coughing. Zerrick rushed over, and saw that she had a lightsaber wound, right through her body. It had barely healed at all, and it had to be causing lots of pain.

"I'm a healer, I can help." Zerrick told Lilith. He slowly moved her hands away from the wound, and he laid his hands over it. He began focusing on nothing but the wound and Lilith's life force. He was able to cause her body to slowly repair itself, one part at a time. When he finished, he keeled over from exhaustion. But Lilith seemed full of energy.

"Whoah. You're a Jedi too eh?" She asked. Zerrick could barely speak, so all he did was nod. "Well, thank you Zerrick, for saving my life. Zerrick wheezed, and gave her a thumbs up. Lilith smiled, and took his hand. "Let's get you some help, maybe some food too." She told him.

Lilith couldn't believe the gullibility of this Jedi. First, he hadn't noticed when he had been injected with a mind-numbing drug, intended to dull the senses. Then he hadn't realized that the water she had given him was another drug with the same effects. And finally, when she had used a special technique to open his mind to suggestion, he had healed her wound and given her more power. Truly this Jedi was an excellent pawn. Now Lilith understood why the Jedi Master, Darooga, had chosen him as a Padawan. The Jedi, Zerrick, was easily manipulated, and Darooga could use him against Darth Naelec's spies without worrying about preaching of the famed 'Jedi Code', Lilith thought in disgust. And now, Zerrick was her pawn, not the Jedi's, or Naelec's. Since he had been thrown into her cell, they had swapped stories, eaten a paltry meal of stale bread, and Zerrick had been beaten for trying to leap through the open door when the guard gave them the food. Lilith had been waiting for several minutes since then, for the guards to throw Zerrick back in. Sure enough, the door slid open and Zerrick came flying in.

"Are you alright?" Lilith asked him, concern in her voice. She needed him alive for her plan to work. "Oh, I'm better than alright." He said, and evil smile on his lips. "When they took me to the torture room, we passed the escape pods, and the engine room. I left a tracer at the engine room, set on a frequency my friends can pick up. It's also sending a message on a continuos loop, so they know where to shoot. Now all we gotta do is wait, and let the party come to us. Once they hit the engine's, we run to the escape pods." He explained to her. Lilith blinked in surprise. For a gullible and stupid Jedi, that was a pretty good plan.

"Alright then Zerrick, waiting it is." She told him, laughing inside at how well her plan was going.

"Shaela! You won't believe this!" Nex yelled down the corridor. He heard footsteps, and then Shaela burst into the cockpit. "What is it?" She asked him. Nex could barely answer he was so ecstatic. "Remember when Zerrick made that beacon that would signal us with a message?" When Shaela nodded, he continued "It just came online! It's located in the Sith satellite, in the engine room I think. And the message is 'Fire'." He explained. "We need to go!" Nex spun around and took the ships controls. He engaged the engines to full power, and the ship shot away.

"Nex, think! You were the one who said it might be a trap! What if the Sith found the beacon, and are tricking us into a trap. Or, what if Zerrick accidentally set it off, and we might kill him if we shoot at it?" Shaela implored Nex. "Please, just think!". Nex shook her off, and put the ship into hold. "Shaela, I did think! The beacon can't be activated by accident, Zerrick and I worked on it, remember? Also, Zerrick would know if it was activated. This is our chance, and I'm taking it!" Nex said sternly. Then he sat down, and piloted the ship towards the satellite.

"All we need to do is wait." Zerrick said. "The engines aren't very far from here, so we'll probably be moved to another location. And this station appears to be running on a skeleton crew, so there should be three guards max. Easy for two Jedi, right?" He asked Lilith. She looked like she was thinking on his words, then she nodded.

"Sounds pretty foolproof. But do you have any idea where our lightsabers are?" She asked him. Zerrick cracked a grin at her question. "I hid them. When we went past the room holding them, I focused on the crystals when they tortured me, so they'll be waiting for us at the escape pod." He explained. Lilith looked surprised at his plan, but she smiled and went along with it.

"But," Zerrick said, "We need to get rid of all of the surveillance in this room. That way they won't know where we are in the cell. We can surprise them easily that way." Zerrick said excitedly. Lilith smiled and patted his cheek, sending a warm feeling up his spine. "I can't wait to see if it works." She said.

While Nex piloted, Shaela took a scanner, and went through all the surrounding sectors.

"Nex! We're in the clear, there's no enemy ships close enough to take us out." Shaela told him. "Good." Nex called back. "Now then, prepare the torpedos! We're going in!" The ship spun up, above the station, then dove straight towards their target: The engines. If they could take them out, then the station would stop spinning, and they could shoot at other important parts of the station. Nex launched a full salvo and laser blasts and missiles. Most of them were stopped by the shields, but a few got through, taking out turrets and a section of the outer hull.

"Firing again." Nex said calmly, pulling the triggers rapidly, sending blast after blast at the Sith. A few fighters flew out, but Nex turned them to rubble.

"Now all we gotta do is wait and keep shooting." Nex said.

"Come on, let's go!" Zerrick shouted to Lilith as they ran. Sure enough, when the explosions started, the guards had opened the door. Lilith and Zerrick overpowered both of them, taking their weapons. They were now running through the damaged station to the escape pod with their lightsabers. When they reached it, they had to blast a Sith trooper who was just climbing out of it. They reached out and grabbed their lightsabers. When Lilith picked hers up, she looked at Zerrick and noticed his eye's were widening and looking behind her. He jumped up and over her, grabbing his lightsaber along the way. When he ignited it, Lilith drew in her breath. Zerrick's lightsaber was pitch black, it seemed to flow into and out of the shadows. Then she noticed the Sith that was about to cut her head off. She spun away, igniting her orange saber, and went into action with Zerrick. Soon, the duel was over and there was one more dead Sith in the world.

"Come on!" Zerrick shouted as he jumped into the escape pod. Lilith took one last look, and leapt in behind him. Zerrick punched the controls, and the pod blasted away.

"Nex! Look!" Shaela shouted to Nex. Nex looked where she was pointing, and saw an escape pod shooting away from the station.

"Scan it!" Nex ordered. Shaela complied, running diagnostics on the pod and whatever was inside. "Nex! Zerrick's inside!" She screamed ecstatically. Nex didn't answer, just put the ship into position and engaged the tractor beam. The pod began slowly sliding towards their ship, and Nex pulled it into the cargo bay.

"Come on!" Nex ordered Shaela as he bolted out of his chair. The both of them zoomed down the stairs and ramps into the cargo bay. There, they saw the familiar black lightsaber cutting through the pod's wall. Then the wall was blasted back, and Zerrick climbed out.

"Hi guys. Miss me?" He asked.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Zerrick!" The woman screamed ecstatically. The man, Nex, Lilith remember, just stood there grinning like a fool. The woman, who must be the trooper Lilith saw in the Ziost video, ran forwards, arms out. She tackled Zerrick, hugging him tightly.

"Shaela, c-can't breath!" Zerrick gasped. So that was her name. Shaela. Lilith would need to remember that. Nex walked up and grabbed Zerrick's arm, and they both grinned. Then Lilith walked out of the pod. Nex didn't recognize her, thanks to the fake hair and makeup she had worn when she had met him on Dathomir. All he did was raise an eyebrow at her, and glance at Zerrick. But Shaela was a different story. She glared at Lilith from over Zerrick's shoulder.

"Zerrick, who is this?" Shaela asked in an sweet voice, giving away her anger. Zerrick turned, looking to where Shaela was, and saw Lilith. "This is, um, Lilith. She helped me escape. She's another Jedi." Zerrick said soothingly, stepping in front of Shaela. The two women stared at each other, waiting for a sign of weakness. Then Nex coughed.

"I'll take her to an empty room. You two just, talk, okay?" Nex said, pulling on Lilith's arm. "You're not very smart are you, especially for a Jedi." Nex said, not even looking at Lilith. "Excuse me?" Lilith asked. Nex turned and stared right into her eyes. Whatever it was in them, it made Lilith scared. She backed down. Nex grunted.

"What I mean is, Shaela quite likes Zerrick, if you know what I mean." He said. Lilith's eyes widened as she realized what he did mean. "I've seen three other women try to get Zerrick to notice them. Shaela arrested one, knocked one to the Hutts and left one stranded on Dagobah. And don't think being a Jedi will help you. The only Jedi Shaela can stand is Zerrick. All others just piss her off. To her, they all seem hypocritical and quite honestly, annoying." Nex warned, continuing down the corridor. Lilith stood there, horrified, then followed. She caught up with Nex just as he turned and opened a door at random. Inside was a room full of guns, clothes and empty wrappers.

"Whoops. My room." He said sheepishly. He walked to the other side of the hallway and opened other door. This one was much tidier and emptier.

"Here you go. Home sweet home." Nex said, bowing. Lilith gave him a smile, and entered. She examined the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. When she completed her search, she turned to Nex.

"Would you mind leaving me along for a while?" She asked sweetly. Nex shrugged, and left. Lilith waited for his footsteps to recede, and laughed. The plan was working. She had gotten on the ship, and now the Jedi was hers. All she needed was the right moment to get rid of Shaela and Nex.

"So tell me Zerrick, what happened between you and Lilith?" Shaela asked, still talking sweetly, which confused Zerrick immensely. He thought back to when he and Lilith were locked up together in the cell.

"Um, well, I healed her stomach, she'd been stabbed by a lightsaber. Then I tried to escape, and I got beaten, and um . . ." Zerrick continued thinking, not noticing Shaela's growing look of despair.

"They must have had something in there, so it was freezing, and we kinda huddled together to keep warm. Oh, and she might have kissed me." Zerrick mumbled, thinking back to that moment. "That's about it." Zerrick said, smiling. Then he saw Shaela's horrified expression. "What's wrong?" Zerrick asked, confused and afraid. Shaela opened and closed her mouth, no sounded coming out. Then she bolted from the hangar, and Zerrick could hear her crying as she ran.

"Shaela?" Zerrick called, running to the door. He looked down the hallway, seeing Shaela's receding form turn a corner, towards her room. "What did I do?" Zerrick whispered, standing in the middle of he hallway, confused.

"Hey Zerrick. That Lilith's quite a girl. You okay?" Nex asked when he saw Zerrick's confused face.

"I must have said something to Shaela, she just ran off . . ." Zerrick said slowly. Nex looked to where Zerrick was pointing, off towards Shaela's room. Nex frowned, squeezing Zerrick's shoulder.

"Zerrick my friend, you do have a way with the ladies." He said, turning back towards his room, leaving Zerrick alone.

"I didn't mean anything . . ." Zerrick whispered, still looking towards Shaela's room. He began slowly shuffling towards the door, and was about to knock when Shaela slammed it open and stuck her head out.

"Aaah!" Zerrick shouted, surprised. Shaela looked up at him with tear-streaked eyes. "Leave me alone Zerrick!" She said angrily. When Zerrick tried to walk in, Shaela slammed the door closed, almost taking off Zerrick's hand. He lunged backwards, panting. Zerrick attempted to get Shaela to talk three more times. Twice, she tried to shoot him, and the third time, she punched him in the face. That was when he gave up. Zerrick paced his way to the lounge, where Nex was teaching Lilith how to play darts.

"It takes years of practice to be able to throw the dart directly where you want it." Nex was saying. To prove his point, Nex threw the dart in his hand, still looking at Lilith. Nex didn't notice, but Lilith seemed to be looking past Nex, at the dart. Then the dart changed direction slightly and went into the edge of the board, not the middle.

"So was that your objective?" Lilith asked, giggling and pointing to the board. Nex looked over, confused, and saw where his dart had landed. "What? Huh?" He stuttered, exasperated.

"Let me try." Lilith said, stepping in front of Nex. She snatched up a dart, and aimed carefully. Nex didn't notice again, but Zerrick saw Lilith's hand that wasn't holding the dart waving back and forth. Zerrick examined the room, and noticed a stack of datapads waving back and forth as well. Lilith drew her throwing arm back, and just before she threw, the datapads collapsed. Nex spun, surprised, and Lilith threw gently, guiding the dart with the Force. Sure enough, it hit dead centre. Satisfied that nothing was wrong, Nex turned back to the board, and his eyes bugged when he Lilith's dart.

"What? How? You . . . You must have cheated!" Nex stammered. All Lilith did was smile up at him.

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about. Is there a refresher here?" She asked. Nex, still dumbfounded, pointed. Lilith thanked him, and strutted over to it. Zerrick walked up behind Nex, examining his face. Nex didn't seem to notice Zerrick, even when he waved his hand in front of Nex's face. Then Zerrick walked to the freezer, and grabbed a bottle of water, ice cold. Then Zerrick poured it down Nex's back. Nex leaped into the air, screaming.

"Why would you do that?" Nex asked angrily. Zerrick couldn't answer, he was too busy laughing his head off. Nex shook his head in disgust, and plopped down on the couch beside Zerrick.

"I'm going to get you for this you know. Just you wait!" Nex told Zerrick. Zerrick stopped laughing, and sat up and stared at Nex, who stared right back. Then the comlink blared, which scared the two of them. They both got back up, and Zerrick answered the call. Darooga's angry face greeted them.

"And just where have you two been?" He said, glaring down at the two of them. Zerrick jumped to attention, but Nex simply lounged in the couch.

"Oh, you know, we were hanging around a cantina, shooting some spies. No biggie." Nex said, looking at Darooga as if daring him to lecture Nex on appropriate behaviour. Unfortunately for him, Darooga simply sighed, and turned to look at Zerrick.

"Apprentice, I still implore you to find a better pilot. Your pet Corellian vexes me." Darooga said sternly. Zerrick bowed, hiding his smile. "And where are we going now Master?" Zerrick asked. Darooga continued glaring at Nex for several moments. Then he turned back to Zerrick, and glared at him.

"You are going to Agamar. It is nearby, and should only take a few hours lightspeed. I am transmitting coordinates to a lab there. A Sith scientist is creating a potion that will maximize Force ability, turning the weak strong, and the strong invincible. It is imperative you capture this potion, or at least destroy it. Darooga out." Darooga took one last glance at Nex, and then the comm went dead.

"Well, isn't he pleasant." A voice said behind Nex and Zerrick, making them both jump. They spun around, and saw Lilith standing there, hands on her hips. She looked at them and smiled.

Shaela was devastated. For the past three years, since she had met him, she had harboured a secret crush on Zerrick. During their time together, she had faced Sith Lords, giant monsters, and other attractive men. And through it all, she had been too afraid to tell him she loved him. She had kept it hidden deep down, hoping Zerrick wouldn't sense it. And now, in one night, his affections were directed at the schutta, Lilith. What made her so special, Shaela thought. Finally, Shaela grew tired of lying on her bed crying. She picked herself up, and checked the chrono. To her surprise, she had been in her room for a total of four hours. Suddenly, the comm blared.

"Shaela, this is Nex. Please report to the cockpit." Nex's voice thundered. Shaela sighed. Somehow, Nex had managed to hack into her comm, making his voice sound like something different. Once he had made his voice just like her old commander's, which scared the living daylights out of her. Shaela walked to her closet, pulling out all the pieces of her armour. She pulled on all of them. She then slid her door open and stepped out, immediately running right into Zerrick. She was so surprised, she brought her knee up and hit him right in the gut.

"Ow! Why would you do that?" Zerrick gasped, keeling over. Shaela saw who she had hit, and brought her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my god! Zerrick, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She asked, helping Zerrick up. Zerrick sucked in a few breaths, nodding. Shaela helped him down the hall, towards the cockpit.

"Come on, let's go see what Nex wants." Shaela said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Despite herself, Lilith couldn't help but laugh. She had heard Nex call everyone to the cockpit, and Lilith had told Zerrick to go on ahead. He had, and as she watched him head down the hallway, the trooper, Shaela, shot out of her room into Zerrick. They both began apologizing and checking each others 'injuries', and it amused Lilith. Once they left, Lilith turned and closed her eyes, expanding her consciousness through the ship, looking and looking until . . . There. Zerrick's room. Lilith made her way to it, hiding when Shaela popped up in front of her. Shaela looked around suspiciously, but she continued up the stairway to the cockpit. Once Lilith was satisfied that she was in the clear, she continued down, watched the cockpit entrance like a hawk. Fortunately for her, no one else came out, and according to her senses, all three of her companions were up there. As she arrived at her destination, Lilith realized getting in might be a bit harder than expected. The door to Zerrick's door was locked by a panel. After pulling the cover off the panel, Lilith observed a mess of cables and buttons that only a tech geek could understand. Thankfully, Lilith could sense a switch deep inside the circuitry, and she pulled it using the Force. Just as she suspected, the door slid open, revealing a relatively tidy room, with a construction table and droids in one corner, a wardrobe with all kinds of robes and disguises in another, and a bed. Once inside, Lilith slid the door shut, and set it for a three second delay so that she could hide if anyone came in. If she was to control Zerrick, she would something dear to him. Or, she would have to destroy someone close to him. Lilith opted for the object, as Zerrick's friends would most likely give her trouble if she tried to kill them. Lilith went through drawers, tried to find a hidden compartment in the droids, even took a look under the bed. Nothing.

"Alright, where would someone keep their most treasured possessions?" Lilith asked herself. Then it hit her. Zerrick would keep it with himself at all times. Then someone outside the door said,

"You said we've got an hour. I can work on my droids 'till then." It was Zerrick. He was coming in. Lilith looked around for a hiding spot, but couldn't find one. So she leaped up to the ceiling and held on. Zerrick walked in, completely unaware of Lilith. He walked to his bed, and took off a necklace. He kissed it softly and set it on the bed. Then he went straight to his worktable, and began rewiring a droid. Once Lilith felt there was sufficient distraction, she used the Force and grabbed the necklace. It shot straight into her hand, completely soundless.

"Oh." Lilith said, astounded. Zerrick's most prized possession was a white stone with names carved into it. Written on the top of it was 'Lost Friends' in the Kiffar language. There were about sixteen names. Three were military. One was a Sith. Lilith would have to ask him about it later. Whispering, Lilith began to concoct a spell that would slowly take over Zerrick's mind using this necklace. The problem was that it had to be touching him to take action. Sith sorcery is never accurate enough, Lilith thought sadly. As she slowly worked her way to finishing the spell, Zerrick seemed to notice something was amiss. He slowly turned, glancing into corners. In a few moments, he would spot Lilith. Distressed, she began spinning a web of darkness around her, sufficient enough to hide her and her feelings from Zerrick. As expected, his eyes strayed to her location, but he didn't see anything. He turned back to his work, and Lilith finished her spell. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to get Zerrick to put it on. Judging by his behaviour, he had been planning to lock up the necklace, and by then the spell would have worn off. So Lilith decided on the direct approach. She carefully lowered herself down from her alcove, and landed two meters behind Zerrick. As quiet as possible, she snuck up right behind him, and said

"Hello there." To her immense amusement, Zerrick shouted and leapt about six feet up, drawing his lightsaber in the process. He spun around, aiming to slice off Lilith's head, and she smiled. Luckily, Zerrick saw who it was and deactivated the saber before it made contact with Lilith.

"What? How? Why?" Zerrick stuttered, staring incredulously at Lilith. All she did was smile up at him, taking his hand in hers.

"I was looking around, and I decided to say 'Hi'." Lilith said innocently, which was getting easier and easier for her lately. Zerrick was still eyeing her suspiciously, even though he hadn't pulled his hand out of her grasp.

"Ah!" Lilith exclaimed. "I have something of yours." She said, pulling the cursed necklace out of her side pouch. Zerrick stared at it dumbly, then looked to his bed where he had set the necklace. It was, of course, not there.

"Thanks, I guess." Zerrick said, taking the necklace. "Where did you- Never mind. What are you doing?" Zerrick asked as Lilith pulled him towards the bed. "Oh, nothing." Lilith replied sweetly. seating Zerrick on the edge of the bed. Now that he was sitting, he was eye-level with Lilith.

"Uhhhhhh . . ." Zerrick stammered as Lilith slid down and seated herself on his lap. He looked surprised. He looked even more surprised when Lilith placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him hungrily, full on the lips. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and put his hands on her hips. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them moving from their loving embrace. When Lilith pulled back, Zerrick's face had a look of pure bliss. Then there was a gasp from the doorway. They both spun around to look, and standing there was the entire reason Lilith had attempted to seduce Zerrick. Standing there, was Shaela.

"Hmmph. Why is it Zerrick always gets the girls?" Nex asked himself. "I'm as good looking as him, I have a better hat and I'm a better pilot! But it's always him . . ." Nex muttered. Nex was in the lounge, swigging from a large bottle of Corellian brandy whilst he surfed the HoloNet, waiting for something exciting to happen. When he called Zerrick, Shaela and Lilith to the cockpit to discuss what they would do when they got to Agamar, he didn't expect to be outvoted on who would pilot the ship. Now he was sitting here alone while Zerrick's stupid droid T9 was piloting. Once again, Nex promised himself he would jettison the droid out an airlock first chance he got. Suddenly, out of the corner of his vision, Nex saw Shaela run into the lounge. She was holding her hands over her face, and she ran into several things. When Nex came over to attempt to help, she punched him in the nose. Hard. Nex was so startled that Shaela managed to push past him and run towards the her room down the hall. Nex stared at her as she ran, ignoring the salty taste of blood, but looked away when she spun around and glared at him. He barely recognized her then. Her normally cheerful and beautiful face was marred by tear streaks and her bright green eyes were riddled with red cracks. All in all, she looked extremely sad and dishevelled, as if her entire world had been crushed.

"Shaela! Wait!" Nex heard Zerrick shout. Nex slowly turned, expecting Zerrick to look the same as Shaela. But he didn't. In fact, it looked as if Zerrick was glowing. Zerrick noticed Nex staring at him, and and they both stood there, neither moving. It was as if Zerrick was daring Nex to make the first move, which was so unlike Zerrick that Nex actually backed down. Lilith came up behind Zerrick, and she whispered something in his ear. as she did, Nex noted that Zerrick's eyes seemed to glaze over. Then the intercom started making droid noises, and Nex realized that T9 was calling him up to the cockpit. Nex took one last look at Zerrick, who had Lilith hugging him from behind, still whispering in his ear, and headed up.

"Alright T9, I'm here. What is so important that you actually had to get me?" Nex asked, still mad at the droid. T9 booped, saying that there was an incoming call over the short distance comm.

"Well, who is it, and who's it for?" Nex asked, bored. T9 whistled sadly, saying that the sender was unknown, but that the call was for Zerrick. Nex thought back to Zerrick, Lilith draped over him and eyes glazed.

"I'll take it." Nex decided. "Put whoever it is through." T9 obliged, and activated the call. As the comm activated, a small image of a man wearing a distinct uniform appeared, facing away from Nex. Nex squinted, trying to get a clearer look. Then the man spun, and Nex realized the uniform was Imperial Intelligence. Before he could do anything, the man spoke up.

"Who are you, and where is Cipher 19?" The man asked. Nex sat there. gaping at him. After a few moments of silence, the man sighed.

"You are obviously a being of low intelligence, so I will ask slowly. Where is Cipher 19, or Agent Vos?" He asked again, emphasizing each syllable. Nex thought for a moment before speaking. Vos was Zerrick's clan name, back on Kiffu. But if this guy was in Imp Intel, and he was asking for Zerrick . . .

"Uh, Agent Vos isn't available. Can I schedule an appointment?" Nex monotoned, hoping that his excuse would suffice. Luckily, it did.

"Very well then. Inform Agent Vos that Plan Delta 14 has been activated. Good day." Said the man, then the channel closed. Nex waited for a few seconds, to make sure the man was really gone, before turning to T9.

"Now that was different." He said, and T9 beeped in agreement. "Well, see you later T9." Nex said, momentarily forgetting his extreme hatred of the droid.

"Why does this always happen?" Shaela asked herself, sitting on her bed, staring at a mirror. Shaela had been heading up to Zerrick's cabin to finally admit her feelings. It was because of Lilith. Shaela could tell that the Jedi schutta was stealing Zerrick's heart, so she went in to take it for herself. To her ultimate despair, she used her special code to open Zerrick's door only to find him in the arms of Lilith. And it wasn't the first time. On several occasions, all at different times, Zerrick attracted the affections of a beautiful woman. He never seemed to realize how much they were attracted to him, but he had captured the hearts of princesses, diplomats, servants and he had even attracted Shaela's own corrupt commander. Now that was a nightmare. Until now, he had never actually returned their affections. But that was the key. Until now. Shaela sighed, picking herself up. If she'd acted like this when all the other women had attempted to steal Zerrick from her, she would be a crying wreck in a psychiatric hospital. After a short pause, Shaela snatched up her favourite blaster pistol, fully intending to use it if she caught Lilith again. Once she holstered it, she solemnly strutted up to her door, and opened it. To her dismay, standing there was a very surprised Zerrick, hand up and ready to knock.

"Oh, um, uh . . ." Zerrick stammered. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to speak. Shaela waited for a few moments, anxious.

"Well?" She asked. Zerrick stood stock still, and might have blushed, but he was shoved aside by Lilith almost immediately, stopping Shaela from speaking. The two women sized each other up, calculating weaknesses, with Zerrick standing nervously off to the side.

"Um, maybe we should just go now." Zerrick said fearfully, apparently noticing the intensity of the staring contest. He put a hand on Lilith's arm and Shaela's shoulder. Then Nex's modulated voice came over the intercom.

"Agamar in sight, everyone to the bridge." He said in the voice of the Republic's leader, Supreme Chancellor Janarus. Shaela broke off from the confrontation, grabbing Zerrick by his cloak on her way past. She pulled him around the corner of a hallway, ignoring Lilith's smug stare.

"I don't care what you see in her Zerrick, but if I get one more reason to, I'm going to jettison her out an airlock!" Shaela hissed at Zerrick. He nodded gravely, understanding that this wasn't sarcasm or jokes, which was what Shaela usually did when she was mad. When Zerrick tried to pry himself free of her grasp, she simply tossed him back down the hall and headed up to the cockpit.

"Alright Nex, you've got us all here. What's so important?" Shaela asked Nex when Zerrick and Lilith arrived. Nex held up a finger, and pushed a button slowly and carefully. Up came a hologram of an underground base.

"This is the target." Nex said, showing his old training in CorSec. "The laboratory should be on the third sub-level, and there are two entrances. One is behind a waterfall, and the other is under a ray-shield. The waterfall entrance is guarded with anti-aircraft turrets and anti-personnel droids. We'll need to airdrop in." Nex explained, using his best military general's voice, which caused Shaela to stifle a laugh despite the situation. Nex looked back and forth at them, and threw his hands up in disgust.

"What are you people waiting for! Go suit up!" He ordered, and Zerrick and Shaela both smiled and bolted down the stairwell towards the hangar bay, with Lilith trailing behind them. As they ran, Zerrick turned and flashed a cocky smile at the girls.

"Bet I can get to the base first!" He cackled, and Force leaped several meters ahead of Shaela. "Not on your life Jedi boy!" Shaela yelled to him, and sped up.


End file.
